CEOs Who Care: Leadership at COMMIT!Forum

The 10th annual Commit!Forum conference, held last week in Washington D.C., was a distinctly business-as-unusual event. The theme was Brands Taking Stands, a trend that has grown exponentially this year within the business community. On Day One, major issues discussed by business leaders included gun violence, immigration, and the opioid epidemic—and that was before lunch.

Other topics covered in the two-day meeting included solutions, such as using purpose as a guide to strategy and the power of joining in collective action. I was privileged to interview some exemplary CEOs and to attend an awards ceremony that recognized their companies’ achievements. The winning causes driven by company heads included tech innovation by Terracyle’s Tom Szaky, a renewable energy platform by Smithfields’ Ken Sullivan, medical research into burn treatment by Toronto Hydro’s Anthony Haines, employee safety as a priority by Republic Services’ Don Slager, and opioid addiction by Leidos’ Roger Krone. The variety of these CEOs’ missions was matched by the singularity of their motivation: a personal passion to do the right thing while directing a profitable business.

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